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Relation between plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and sex hormone concentrations in men
Insights
Testosterone levels positively correlate with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in men. This relationship between testosterone and HDL cholesterol requires further investigation for a complete understanding.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Endocrinology
- Lipid Metabolism
Background:
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is inversely linked to heart attack risk.
- Gender differences in coronary heart disease risk may involve sex hormones.
- The relationship between endogenous sex hormones and HDL cholesterol is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between endogenous sex hormone concentrations and HDL cholesterol levels in men.
- To investigate potential correlations between testosterone and estradiol with HDL cholesterol.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of 225 men from the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial.
- Measurement of plasma testosterone and estradiol concentrations.
- Statistical correlation analysis with HDL cholesterol and other risk factors (age, weight, alcohol, smoking).
Main Results:
- Plasma testosterone concentration showed a positive correlation with HDL cholesterol.
- Changes in testosterone concentration were also positively correlated with changes in HDL cholesterol in longitudinal analysis.
- Estradiol showed an inverse relation with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but no significant correlation with HDL cholesterol.
Conclusions:
- Testosterone concentration is positively associated with HDL cholesterol in men.
- The relationship between testosterone and HDL cholesterol is not fully explained by common confounding factors.
- No significant association was found between estradiol concentrations and HDL cholesterol or its known determinants.
Abstract:
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is inversely associated with risk of heart attack. Sex hormones have been suggested as possible factors contributing to the gender difference of coronary heart disease risk. Little is known about how endogenous sex hormone concentration might be related to HDL cholesterol. The relation was examined in 225 men participating in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Plasma testosterone concentration was positively correlated with HDL cholesterol and the change in testosterone concentration was also positively correlated with change in HDL cholesterol. The relation between testosterone and HDL cholesterol could not be fully explained by age, relative weight, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking in the cross-sectional study. However, when this relation was examined longitudinally, the partial correlation between changes in testosterone and HDL cholesterol did not quite achieve statistical significance (0.05 less than p less than 0.10). The biologic process that relates HDL cholesterol to testosterone is not known. The results suggest an inverse relation between plasma estradiol concentration and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but no statistical significant correlation with HDL cholesterol. In addition, there was no association noted in the current research between estradiol concentrations and the known determinants of HDL cholesterol.